The Relief in the Return (to the Mighty Hut)
by grc73
Summary: Tag for 9x04 - "The Sense in the Sacrifice." Contains spoilers. And smut. And a (teensy) bit of angst. But mostly smut, of the Booth and Brennan lovin' variety. *grins*


**A/N - ****This is another of my forays into the 'M' section. If you're under age to be reading such things in your country, or you are of a nervous/prudish disposition, go back now please! We also have some SPOILERS in this fic, so if you don't like those, au revoir! **

**Wow, my muse sure did not like Pelant. He goes bye-bye and wham, she's churning out loads! Props to Andrew Leeds, he's been fabulously creepy through the whole story-arc. The main thing is that HE IS DEAD, ladies and gentlemen - Hart Hanson has been very clear on that. I've still seen a few people churn out Hodgins-style conspiracy theories on the forums that he's alive. Booth shot him in the chest from just a few feet away. We saw the guy lying on the floor, dead as a door nail. I'm not sure what other evidence people need?! (Sorry, small rant over.)**

**A couple of shout outs - one to my beta, Jencun, who turned this around in ridiculously quick time. You are a total gem. And to Wendish (Readers, please go read "A New Hope" - it's fricking brilliant) - there's a tiny Easter egg in there for you, Hun ;)**

* * *

After a few minutes of their embrace, Booth and Brennan walked out from the power plant, hands still linked. Booth paused and gazed at his fiancée, breaking into a smile. He brushed a stray hair out of her face and cupped her cheek gently.

"Bones." His intonation was half question, half statement. "I have to call this in, OK. Then we can go home."

"Sure Booth." Brennan looked at him earnestly and nodded. "I understand."

Quite frankly, Brennan could not wait to get the hell out of there and wash off the remnants of the power station particulates. She also had an irrational desire to cleanse herself of Pelant. But she understood that certain processes needed to be followed, and so Booth called in the fatality while she waited patiently. They took the opportunity to kiss some more, before twenty minutes or so later, the sirens wailed in the distance, FBI cavalry arrived and statements were taken. The logistics and forensics teams took photos of the now-deceased Pelant and his lair and started to catalogue and carefully dismantle his systems. Booth and Brennan were free to leave. A call to the lab was made to inform the team, who didn't seem terribly surprised at the outcome, but they did all sound almost deliriously happy without telling Booth and Brennan anything they'd just seen through the security cameras.

"That can wait, let's give them that moment," agreed Angela and Cam, knowingly, sharing a smile; they were a pair of hopeless romantics at heart.

Meanwhile, it was time to leave. The whole episode had been quite horrible. Killing someone was never a pleasant experience for Booth.

"You OK to drive, Bones?"

"Yes, thank you Booth. You?"

"I'm OK. I'll see you at home?"

Brennan nodded, and checking there was no-one too close nearby, gave him a final quick peck on the lips before climbing into her car.

* * *

Brennan arrived home a few minutes before Booth, who had stayed for just a little longer to speak to one of his regular clean-up guys. The Mighty Hut was empty, Christine having been dispatched to Max's care as soon as the team had started to execute their original ill-fated plan, it was Grandpa Max who had taken his granddaughter to and from daycare these last few days. As it was well into evening by the time Pelant had been eliminated, Brennan had made a quick call to Max to relay the news that their nemesis was dead and that they'd pick their daughter up the morning rather than disturb her sleep. Max smiled to himself as he put the phone down. He was glad Booth had been one to do the deed. It was almost as satisfying as if he'd done it himself. He was glad to give them the time to themselves as well.

Brennan dropped her bag as she walked in and almost immediately peeled off all her clothes, stopping briefly by the laundry room to dump them into the basket.

"_I'll sort those out later_" she muttered out loud to herself.

Now naked, she ran up the stairs straight to their en-suite bathroom where she switched on the shower and after a few impatient seconds as she waited for the temperature to settle, she walked in and stood with her head back, allowing the water to pour over her. Brennan took several deep breaths as she contemplated the enormity of the day and reflected on her emotions, one by one.

**Relief**. Pelant was dead. He had brought great pain to their lives, several times over. The team had been badly affected too. She had felt quite satisfied when Booth had pulled the trigger. Brennan knew that the only way they were guaranteed that Pelant could not strike again was with a dead Pelant. And it was the fact that she'd seen it with her own eyes. She did not have to rely on a second hand account of his death and be forever worrying that someone had been bought, or blackmailed to assist him in the future.

**Regret**. Just a little, but a small part of her was sad that they'd not been able to take Pelant alive. He had had such a huge intellect that she wondered if he might have been able to help them catch the serial killer he appeared to have uncovered. She was also regretful that neither Booth nor Hodgins had killed him months earlier.

**Elation**. _Booth_. The two words went together and his name went round and round in her head. Brennan felt her heart skip a beat. He was hers and she, his; and they could finally now formalise their relationship. Deep down, away from the rationalisation she had given to the world for nearly twenty years about "archaic institutions", was really a little girl who when it really came to it, wanted to be a princess and marry her prince, just like nearly everybody else. She now allowed herself to recognise the anthropological and cultural significance of the ceremony to come; and her heart, for so long locked away, recognised that marrying Booth tied them together in a way that tangibly demonstrated how much they loved each other. Brennan was glad that there was a way they could record that for the world to see. She sighed, happily. She loved the feeling of the naturally-occurring chemicals coursing through her body again, rather than the utter misery it had given her for those months after Pelant had blackmailed Booth and in turn, he had distanced himself to focus on finding and killing the serial killer. It had been a horrible, horrible experience but at least now, it was over. She knew she was deeply and utterly in love and hoped he would be home soon. She wanted to show him exactly how she felt.

Just then the Universe decided to gift her what she wanted. The shower door opened and on cue, Booth stepped in, his breath taken away by his fiancée in front of him. She glanced over at the temporarily cold draft. As they made eye contact, he immediately pulled her against him for a dreamy kiss and wrapping his arms around her, began to stroke her back.

"I love you." She murmured into his mouth.

"I know."

When they broke apart, she buried her head in his shoulder. Seeing Booth... knowing they were now safe in their own home- she had planned an entire seduction in her mind but instead the relief opened the flood gates and tears spilled down her cheeks. To her surprise, as she then looked into his eyes, Booth's were also a little red. The lovers stayed like this for a while before Brennan took a final deep breath. She pulled back, looking pleadingly at him.

"I feel covered in power plant particulates and... although it's not rational, that place felt like it had Pelant all over it. Would you... please...?"

He understood.

After everything that day, that month, that year - despite the closure, or perhaps because of it; she was emotionally drained. If he analysed it, he probably was too. Wordlessly, Booth nodded and turned her around so her back was to his chest. He took some of her shower gel and after lathering it in his hands, started gently to soap her shoulders, upper arms and back before sweeping over and under her breasts, brushing over her nipples with his thumbs, but not dwelling on that spot. Then he moved to her waist, where he wrapped his arms around her tightly as they paused again with the water rushing over them, the strong spray cascading water on their heads, cleansing them of Pelant's evil, like a baptism. At least, that's how it felt to Brennan, the irony of the symbolism, so apparent, not lost on her.

Next he poured out shampoo and put some in her hair, massaging it into her scalp.

"Keep you eyes shut, Bones" he whispered in her ear before moving her more under the water to rinse it off.

Her eyes remained shut as he dropped down to his knees behind her, kissed the small of her back and began washing her legs and buttocks. He moved his hands around to her front where he carefully ran his fingers over her mound and stroked her, continuing to kiss her lower back, but not penetrating her with his fingers. She relaxed and sighed as he continued for a few moments, teasing her just a little. This seemed to lighten the moment somewhat as his focus moved from her comfort to her arousal.

Suddenly, he stopped.

"Booth?" Brennan was jolted out of her pleasant dream-like state in some confusion.

Booth dropped his hands away and pulled himself up next to her. He smiled again and kissed her temple.

"It's OK, Bones. I wanna take my fiancée to bed." He cocked his head at her and ran his tongue over his bottom lip somewhat expectantly. Brennan glanced down and noted just how turned on he was. "You understand?"

The look of confusion on Brennan's face fell away as what Booth was saying became clear.

"Because we are engaged," she said, insightfully, then added, "...to be married" and her trademark coy, lop-sided grin appeared on her beautiful features.

"Yeah. And nobody is gonna take that away from us now, Bones. I want to enjoy the moment, just the two of us, in our bed, with no prying eyes or ears."

With that final statement, he gave them both one last rinse under the water to make sure there was no soap or shampoo left before switching off the spray. He stuck his hand outside of the shower door and grabbed a towel that was hanging on a well-placed hook, ready for use. He wrapped it around her, briefly towel-drying her hair before gently wiping her face of excess water, unable to resist following it up with a kiss and securing it in front of her chest. Then he grabbed another towel which he too rubbed over his hair, then wrapped around his waist. Stepping out of the shower, Booth took her hand, then as she stepped out, picked her up and slid his arms under her knees as Brennan wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled into him. Be-towelled, he carried them into the bedroom where he dropped her as gracefully as he could onto the bed before climbing over Brennan to lay on his side facing her, their faces about six inches apart, damp towels still covering them.

"Hi." His eyes locked on to hers, but his expression was warm.

"Hi."

"So here we are."

"Yes. Here we are." Brennan, now feeling a lot better, could not help but give a small giggle at his formality.

They did not break eye contact as Booth scooted a little closer to Brennan before moving to brace his body over her. He reached down and brushed her uncovered shoulder with his lips before pressing into her soft skin a little more firmly, a hand caressing where his mouth had just been.

"God... I can't **not** touch you... Do you have any idea how much I love you?" he mumbled as he moved his attentions back to her mouth, his firmness pressed against her thigh.

"I would say that based on your deep incurrence into my personal space and your current, most apparent physical arousal, a great deal." She let out a chuckle. "I love **you** very much too, Booth."

He kissed her again on the lips before moving to her neck. She sighed most happily.

"Booth?"

"Uh-huh?"

"That's really nice, Mmmmmm... Will it still be like this after we get married?"

"No" he kissed her clavicle. "Better." Brennan sighed as he moved his mouth down towards her breasts, open mouthing the top of them.

"Really? Mmmmmm, feels good when you do that." She was beginning to lose the use of pronouns.

"Uh-huh. Because..." his response was punctuated by kisses over her upper body. "...We will be joined together as..." he pulled the knot out from the side of her towel, gently pulling it away and throwing it onto the floor to gain access to his next goal. "...husband and..." He bit down on her nipple gently before sucking on it appreciatively "...wife." She moaned. He looked up unto her eyes again for a moment. "I've dreamt about making love to you as my wife for a long time."

His reward was a mega-watt grin as she pulled him back up briefly to kiss her again and her fingers grabbed his damp hair a little harder as he slid back down her body.

"In your coma dream?"

"Before even. That was just..." he continued his most pleasant assault on her breasts "...a manifestation of what I'd been thinking, and clearly..." he made her squeal as he shifted his attentions to kissing back down her body to her stomach and his fingers brushed her over her ticklish abdomen, "seeing as I was mostly dreaming what you were reading to me, what you'd been thinking about too."

"Oh..." murmured Brennan contentedly. She was in no mood to argue about psychology right now; really, she didn't care. He could have read her the telephone directory and it would have sounded just perfect. Then she gasped as Booth's journey south reached its ultimate goal, his tongue gently laving at her folds.

"I haven't forgotten about that challenge." Hands and lips began to touch her all in one go.

"That's good... oh... yeah, that is really... Booth..." Most coherent thought disappeared from her brain as Booth continued his work, eliciting various noises from her that only spurred him on further. She managed to pretty much forget her own name, bought to orgasm in a matter of minutes, making her shudder from top to toe, before she hauled him back upwards with what little strength she had left, ultimately settling Booth between her legs. She pressed her tongue into his mouth at the same time she slid her fingers down his back to his ass, running her nails over them to give him tiny shivers as they made contact with each nerve receptor. This time it was Booth's turn to moan.

"Booth... Honey. Need you inside me. Now." The last word was both breathy but forceful.

_Honey_? This was new.

He smirked, but Booth wasn't about to argue with his new pet moniker. He was quite desperate to enter her, with or without a name. They kissed again hungrily and it took little effort for him to slide easily inside her, stilling for just a moment as they connected, taking a moment to enjoy the mutual sensation. She stroked his cheek affectionately before surprising him with a thrust of her hips, their bodies forming a repetitive steady rhythm as they moved together, mimicking the same pattern as their kissing. They were an efficient machine, and it wasn't long before the intensity of their movements increased, pushing the lovers towards their desired end.

"So close..." Brennan panted, her thrusting upward now taking a less structured turn as another orgasm loomed and her primal instincts kicked in. "Booth...?" She moaned expectantly at him.

"Me too, Baby..." Booth responded, his own breaths becoming more ragged as he too pounded her harder to find his release.

Like the miracle that they were when they were together in all things, they came, one immediately after the other. In a single move and still inside her, Booth rolled himself and Brennan over so he was on his back and she rested upon him. They took a few moments to catch their collective breath, the sheen of perspiration from their efforts still evident as they both calmed and eventually, he slipped out of her.

"Well that was..." Brennan chuckled, her hand on his chest.

"Yep." Booth grinned up at her.

"I like being engaged, Booth, very much."

"I know, Baby, me too. I love how it feels to belong to you. We're part of each other, we have been for a long time. But now? Now it's official."

"I know that this is not about ownership of one person by another, but I too feel the positive nature of our situation becoming more formal. I must admit, it is comforting... and indeed, most intimate."

"Mmmm, talking of intimate... _Honey_? Is this going to be a regular thing? Because don't get me wrong, I love it. Just wouldn't have had you pegged for a "_calling me Honey_" kind of a girl."

"Well" said Brennan in a sultry voice, "I can be full of surprises... _Honey_..." She slid her hand down over Booth's torso until she felt the thatch of hair that surrounded his member, now pliant in her fingers. "I do not believe you have completed that challenge."

"Isn't two a multiple?" Booth teased.

"Not for the purposes of this exercise..."

"Well I couldn't very well disappoint my fiancée..."

They both laughed, and ultimately Brennan (and Booth) got a very good night's sleep.

* * *

**Constructive reviews are cherished, thank you.**


End file.
